


I Want You

by Punk_Grape



Category: Splatoon
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-22
Updated: 2019-08-22
Packaged: 2020-09-24 07:42:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,385
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20354845
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Punk_Grape/pseuds/Punk_Grape
Summary: Aloha wants what he can’t have, as most do, but what if it’s his best friend?





	I Want You

Aloha woke with a start, drawn from his dream he had wished would never end by a phone call. Sleepy eyes glanced at the phone, it was Diver; he always answered Diver, he was his best friend after all, but the dream he’d had felt all too real. For the first time, Aloha ignored the call, fighting the desire to answer it, he was afraid to. Afraid that he’d crack and tell him. 

Stuffing his phone under his pillow, he curled up in the middle of the bed and pulled a blanket over himself. Blankets always provided comfort and safety, this was no exception. All he could do was lay there and think about his dream. His dream of Diver leaning in, pressing a sweet kiss to his forehead. His dream of Diver bringing him into a kiss more passionate than any he’d dreamt of before. 

The irony of Diver waking him up from that dream was not lost on Aloha, and in time began to amuse him. The more he woke up, the more he began to think; as of late Diver hadn’t called, that was the first time he’d heard his ringtone in three weeks. Then fear settled in, why would he be calling this early in the morning, why was he suddenly calling him after weeks of silence? ‘He could be in trouble and I just ignored him,’ Aloha thought guiltily. 

A hand shot out from under the blanket to grab his phone, and saw a voicemail notification. Hurriedly, he held it his ear, Diver might need his help, he could be- ‘screw you Diver’ was his next thought; it was six am, and Diver had called him, woken him up from a bliss filled dream, to ask if Aloha would like to tag along to a movie with Diver and his girlfriend. “Too early,” he groaned out loud, contemplating throwing his phone across the room. 

He withheld from throwing it, opting to simply mute Diver for the time being. If Straw or Octoglasses needed him, he was fine with that; Diver just seemed to be a sensitive topic for Aloha, and he’d be content taking a break from his thoughts of Diver. Or at least try to, as the thoughts lingered from his dream, and Aloha only wished that was his reality. With an annoyed grunt, he tossed his blanket to the side, he’d passed the point of no returning to sleep, so might as well get up. 

The two girls knew something was off about their leader as he slumped into a chair, and laid his head on the table; he’d been a little sulky as of late, but seeing him annoyed concerned them. “What’s wrong, Aloha?” Octoglasses said, scooting her chair next to his, then laying a hand gently on his back. 

“Yeah, you know we’re here for you, always,” Straw added, then moved her chair to Aloha’s other side. 

“It’s nothing,” he mumbled into the table, “just didn’t sleep well. Diver called at six asking a stupid question.” 

The girls exchanged looks; both were 99% certain Aloha was in a funk because of Diver. “Did you tell him you didn’t want to be called that early?” 

‘Shoot I should’ve at least texted him that,’ he thought, then let out a groan. “No, didn’t. Don’t wanna see him now anyway.” 

Luck was not on his side, as it would seem, because Diver approached the three with a smile and a wave. “Hey guys!” 

The girls watched as though a switch was flipped in Aloha; his bothered expression was instantly replaced with a wide grin, eyes squinting as he adopted a happy look. They knew it was all a front, and neither liked it, but what could they do? “Sorry I didn’t catch your call, was sleeping,” he said with as much energy as he could, though inside he was exhausted. 

The smile that Diver had was killing him, and the laugh as a response felt like another nail in his coffin; Aloha had no idea how long he could keep this up. “Sorry about that, I kinda forgot you weren’t a morning person.” 

Aloha wanted to mutter “clearly”, but paused. Still, it annoyed him to no end that he, his best friend, had forgotten that. “Anyway, was wondering if you’re available to hang out tomorrow? We could grab a smoothie or something.” 

Before he could think, before he could stop himself, Aloha agreed to it. “Yeah, we could do that,” he said with a deep breath; he was so close to breaking, he had to get out of there. “Ah excuse me, think I forgot to uh, turn off my oven at home.” The pink team leader was out of his seat in a flash, running as fast as he could home; not the most graceful of exits, but it was better than breaking there. 

His teammates all simply stared at the seat he’d been in moments before, and Diver huffed. “Worst excuse to leave ever. What’s with him?” 

“He’s been like that for a while.” 

“We thought you knew, or would be able to tell us what’s bothering him. You’re his best friend, right?” 

Diver glanced between Octoglasses and Straw, his heart speeding up; he’d been so focused trying not to wrap himself up with thoughts of Aloha, he’d nearly ignored him. “I didn’t- I had no idea.” It seemed they would have a lot to talk about come the next day. 

The day gave way to night, and dawn broke the dark sky; Aloha had not slept yet, how could he, with the meet up getting closer and closer. He was contemplating staying at home, in his bed, and blowing Diver off, but he couldn’t. Aloha missed him, and wouldn’t risk driving a wedge between them. So out he trudged, sleep deprived as he was, to the smoothie shop they’d settled on. 

Diver was already there, scrolling through his phone idly, when he saw Aloha approach him. At first glance, he was glad he came, but when he got a closer look, Diver began to worry; Aloha looked dead, like he sometimes did when they used to do all nighter parties, back before he started dating- “Aloha? You look awful.” He saw no point in sugar coating it, and was certain he knew it too. 

“Myah didn’t sleep last night,” Aloha mumbled. How could he? “Whatcha want, I’ll buy.” 

“No, you’re going home and sleeping. We can reschedule for when you’ve slept.” 

Perhaps it was all the pent up emotions, perhaps it was his lack of sleep, but Aloha snapped. “For when, you rarely are around, you rarely respond to texts, you don’t call.” He did, however, take Diver’s advice and began to make his way out of the shop, to go home and sleep. 

It took a minute for the words to settle in, but when they did, Diver’s chair was kicked back and fell to the ground, the inkling taking off to chase after Aloha. The sleep deprived inkling didn’t have the energy to run, which allowed Diver to catch up. “Aloha, wait.” 

Said inkling stopped in his tracks, but made no move to turn around; he was fighting back so much, he knew he couldn’t face him. “You know I’m right,” was all he said, then waited to see if Diver would try to argue it, but was met with silence. His eyes caught movement ahead of him, and his mouth trembled; there she was, the one who took Diver from him, from their friends. 

He left without another word, heading back home, back to his bed, back to the safety of his blankets. Memory after memory of them laughing together, hanging out, goofing off, partying together flittered in his mind as he shuffled home; he couldn’t blame the girl for liking Diver, he was perfect, at least in Aloha’s eyes. Always there for him, always at his side, they made a spectacular team, but ultimately his inability to confess his feelings allowed Diver to slip through his fingers. 

“Stupid, stupid, stupid!” he berated himself as he arrived home, closing the door with a loud thud. “I couldn’t even look at him.” Aloha leaned against the door and slid down until he sat on the floor, finally allowing himself to cry. He pulled up his phone and went through it, muting Diver on every messaging app, every media app; there was no way he could see or talk to him, it hurt too much. 

For good measure, he tossed his phone onto the couch, taking small glee that it fell behind pillows, he wasn’t really up to talking with anyone at the moment. His memory kicked in, and he was reminded that they had a big match in two days; he’d rather forfeit than face Diver at this point. 

He wasn’t sure how much time had passed, but eventually Aloha made his way to his bed, kicking off his shoes and tossing his button up to the floor as he walked. The familiar fabric greeted him as he encased himself in bedding, glad he could finally be by himself, either awake or asleep, as long as he was alone, Aloha was content. 

A good way to help heal stress is sleep, and for a split second after he woke up, Aloha felt better, more like himself. Then he saw Diver, clear as day, sitting on the edge of the bed, watching him. Mood immediately soured, Aloha grabbed the blanket and turned to his side, so he was facing away from Diver. Why did he have to be in his house, in his room, on his bed? “Go away,” Aloha mumbled into the bedding, his voice heavily muffled. “Don’t want you here.” 

Diver sat still, Aloha didn’t want him there. “Are you angry at me?” 

“I said go away Diver.” 

“What’s wrong?” 

An agitated huff escaped the bedding as Aloha squeezed his eyes tight, trying to hold back the tears. “Leave.” 

“Not until you tell me what’s wrong,” Diver challenged; it was hardly the first time he’d argued with Aloha, but usually the pink leader relaxed and let whatever it was slide. 

This time, there was no relaxing. Aloha sat up, blankets falling to his lap, eyes narrowed at Diver as he huffed. “I’ll tell you what’s wrong. What’s wrong is that my best friend didn’t talk to me for three weeks. What’s wrong is that you’re too preoccupied to even see how anyone else is doing. What’s wrong is that I love you and can’t do anything about it.” Aloha paused, tears streaming down his cheeks. “Get out.” 

“Wait, Aloha-“ 

“I said get out,” he grumbled, using his foot to kick Diver in the hip. “Get out and leave me alone.” 

Diver stood up, but didn’t move; how could he when Aloha just told him he loved him? “You think it was easy for me to be away from you?” Diver finally said in a hushed tone, catching Aloha’s attention. “Do you really think I wanted to spend so little time with my friends? I had no choice, I had to stop being around you.” He took a breath, now it was his turn to fight back tears. “So many things she does reminded me of you that it hurt too much. I couldn’t handle it, couldn’t handle seeing you, talking to you. I made a mistake and I have to live with it.” Tears were freely falling down Diver’s face. “The worst thing about it was that it hurt you. I realized I only loved one person soon after I started dating, and it stung so much that I tried to cut that person out of my life, even for a moment.” 

He took a shaky breath, closed his eyes, and tried to calm himself away from a meltdown. “Aloha I’m so sorry I hurt you.” A gentle brush against his hand had Diver jumping slightly, but felt his hand being tugged, so he sat down on the bed once more. 

Aloha scooted to the edge and sat beside him, then leaned his head against Diver’s shoulder. “Guess we’re both idiots,” he whispered. “I’m sorry for snapping.” 

“I deserved it,” Diver countered. “I’m the worst friend ever.” 

Instead of arguing that like Diver thought he would, Aloha nodded. “Yeah, you are. And you’re an even worse best friend. But I forgive you.” Both took a few deep breaths, trying to calm down. “So what’s next?” 

Diver looked at his feet, he didn’t like the thought of what he had to do. “I guess I need to break up.” 

“You don’t have to break up on my account, Diver, it’s okay.” 

“No, while I like her, I only love you.” 

Aloha frowned. “But you seemed happy with her.” 

This would be a back and forth, Diver could tell. “I had fun, yeah, but my best memories are with you. I can’t change that.” 

“Diver, I’m serious, please don’t do it just because I couldn’t handle myself.” 

‘Aloha I swear to god,’ Diver thought as he turned his head, grabbed Aloha by the chin, and pressed their lips together. “Please shut up, I’m doing this because I need to, and you need me to, too.” 

Diver had prepared for the worst, he was ready for a full on blow out when he told her he was breaking up; he was not prepared for her to nod and smile, explaining how she saw it coming for a long time. It left Diver stunned, and Aloha worried something bad happened when Diver returned to him in a daze. “What happened?” he asked cautiously. 

“She was cool with it. Said she saw it a mile away. I thought that’d be harder.” 

Aloha’s expression softened. “I’m glad. But more importantly, I can now do this without guilt.” 

Before Diver had time to process his words, Aloha pulled him in for a kiss, long and sweet, only to be broken by the need for air. Diver grabbed Aloha in a hug, burying his face in the crook of his neck. “I’m never leaving your side again,” he murmured. 

Just then Aloha jumped, spooking Diver. “Oh! Guess what guess what!” 

“What?”

Aloha wrapped his arms around Diver’s neck. “I love you!” he said, a happy smile finally returning to his face.


End file.
